Album Review: September Mourning – Volume II

Art, like nearly everything in life, can come in a variety of forms and be showcased through many unique outlets. Paintings, poetry, dance, music and more are all visual or static representations of self-expression for the creative mindset. While many of these outlets tend to cross over creating the epitome of artistic expression in that particular area, two fields that have rarely come together are the world of comics and the world of music. This is where the transmedia dark culture project known as September Mourning comes, in which combines the world of music, comic books and live concerts.  The project at its forefront contains a story line that has a musical component to it which acts as the vehicle to tell the story. Utilizing this, the band took listeners on a journey into the world of the living and the dead through the eyes of the human-reaper hybrid September with their debut EP, Volume I. As the band’s debut album, Volume II, is finally upon us, does it continue where they left off with their EP or ultimately fall flat due to a bigger and wider scope?

[tw-toggle title=”About September Mourning”]
Genre: Hard Rock
Label: Sumerian Records
Release: July 29, 2016
Connect: Facebook | Twitter
Purchase: KillerMerch | iTunes
[/tw-toggle]

While music has always worked out well in taking listeners on a journey, it’s a new realm of delivery when there is a coinciding comic book to go along with it. There has to be a feeling of intertwining storytelling without making people feel as if they’re missing out on important aspects by not having the other side of the project. September Mourning solve this by including the tracks from Volume I into Volume II, albeit in a slightly different, more cohesive order. Opening up the record is “The Collection”, which serves as a simple intro that introduces the listener to the world of September in not only story but in musicality. It sets the tone for what this ultimately is sonically – a hard rock and electronic rock driven project which is exemplified perfectly by the albums first full song, “Angels to Dust”. With crunchy guitars, pounding drums and occasional screams from frontwoman Emily Lazar, it’s a hard hitting opener that showcases the bands full on sound without sacrificing the story it’s telling.

SEPTEMBER MOURNING – Skin and Bones (Lyric Video)

September Mourning // Volume II // OUT NOW CD/Merch Pre-Orders: http://sumerianmerch.com iTunes: http://smarturl.it/SeptMourning-iTunes Amazon: http://smarturl.it/SeptMourning-Amazon GooglePlay: http://smarturl.it/SeptMourning-GP — https://facebook.com/septembermourning https://facebook.com/sumerianrecords https://sumerianrecords.com

As mentioned earlier, half of the record is previously released material from the band’s debut EP, Volume I, but it’s hard to notice as the new tracks fit in with the old ones. From “Skin and Bones” with its toe-tapping, rhythmic drumming and massive sing-a-long chorus, the straightforward rock anthemic style of “20 Below” with memorable guitar riffs littered throughout to the albums closer “’Til You See Heaven” which oozes a dark and broody, almost apocalyptic atmospheric sound, there isn’t a jarring distinction between the old and new tracks. The aforementioned sounds are what September Mourning present which helps give them a very distinct style and sound. Whether it is the darker lyrics and theme that coincides with a story in the realm of the living and the dead through comics, hard hitting instrumentation in pounding drums, crunchy riffs, scattered electronic layering or brooding, atmospheric soundscapes with soaring choruses, there aren’t many bands that can be compared to them sonically.

Transmedia projects as a whole aren’t new ideas, but they’re rarely executed to the level they could achieve as grandiose ideas and concepts tend to get in the way. Fortunately, that isn’t the case with September Mourning as there is an undeniable amount of attention to detail and craftsmanship for the project as a whole, music and comic alike. With the goal of having the music act as the vehicle telling the story of the character September, Volume II delivers exceptionally. Each track comes across as a piece of a journey and from beginning to end, the musicality found helps keeps listeners engaged in that journey rather than distracting from it, which is what any artist hopes for. It’ll be intriguing to see where our character’s journey takes her next.